Diana Shipping: Scrubbers Not Attractive at the Moment

Greek dry bulk shipowner Diana Shipping does not see exhaust gas cleaning systems as an attractive investment opportunity for its fleet as a way to become compliant with the upcoming sulphur cap regulation.

Ahead of the implementation of the sulphur cap regulation on January 1, 2020, the company is considering which path it would take to tackle emissions in order to comply with the regulation, Diana Shipping said in its third quarter 2018 earnings call.

Out of a number of options that are out there, Diana Shipping believes that the implementation dilemma boils down to choosing between the installation of scrubbers or burning cleaner fuels.

“It is a matter of an investment opportunity that we have to consider for better risk reward and returns,” Ioannis G. Zafirakis, Diana Shipping’s Director, Chief Strategy Officer and Secretary, said, adding that investing in scrubbers is not a part of the company’s business strategy moving forward.

He explained that buying back the company’s stock offers much better return possibilities than investing in scrubbers. Zafirakis further said that, after examining scrubbers as an option, Diana Shipping does not consider this as an attractive opportunity at the moment.

Diana Shipping earlier informed that it has commencement a tender offer to purchase up to 4.1 million shares, or about 3.86%, of its outstanding common stock using funds available from cash and cash equivalents at a price of USD 3.60 per share.

The tender offer will expire on December 20, 2018, unless extended or withdrawn. The Board of Directors determined that it is in the company’s best interest to repurchase shares at this time given Diana Shipping’s cash position and stock price.